It’s on your body: I can see the self-respect of the person who dresses carefully, neatly, cleanly. The flamboyance of loud colors states clearly you are unafraid of my opinion. The nose rings and multicolored Mohawks of the young people on Melrose Boulevard speak to me of teenage rebellion and worse (although I could be wrong about the worse). Rich fabrics and fine jewelry tell me you have manifested some wealth in your life. Rags tell me you haven’t.

Studies have shown that some 75 percent of our opinions about other people are formed in the first thirty seconds we meet them through non-verbal clues.

You’re talking your thinking.

After the visual, the verbal clues declare themselves. When you talk, you betray your culture, your upbringing, your education, your intelligence, and your beliefs. When you say “Yeah, but” I see where you are stuck along the path to your dream. When you ask questions, I believe you are interested. When you never ask questions, I assume you are not. When you talk with energy, I catch your excitement. When you complain about things, I catch your resentment.

One year, I got a bad case of the flu. I was following the doctor’s orders – resting, drinking lots of fluids, taking my antibiotics, and just generally being a bed potato (couldn’t get to the couch). I cancelled everything on my calendar. Watched some TV but it’s amazing how you can have 300 channels full of 24/7 broadcasting and not find very much of interest.

But a friend I trade books with (we’re both into sci fi and fantasy fiction) had included Ken Follet’s “Fall of Giants” in his last shipment. I had enjoyed his “Pillars of the Earth” and “World Without End” enormously, so I settled in with his nearly 1,000 page tome about 5 families during the period of 1911-1924, from just before World War I and just after. It was enormously entertaining! From the upper class British nobility to the coal miners who worked under their land, to the German aristocrat balancing his love for his country with his forbidden love of an English girl, then to the poor Russian brothers – one a scoundrel and one a saint, and the American eager young politician working for Woodrow Wilson, I was enthralled with their stories.

I have always enjoyed historical fiction, following a group of characters as they react to the political, social, and economic issues of their particular time. It’s a more interesting way of learning history, to look at political decisions through the eyes of a person who might have lived through it, with all the personal motivations that might have intruded upon them. You can read facts and statistics until you’re blind, but when you put them into the lives of characters you’ve come to know and care about, they have a particular resonance. I was horrified by the lives of the miners, working in the dark caverns under the earth from 6 am to 7 pm, 6 days per week, with few laws to protect them or guarantee their safety. I was chagrined at how women were in bondage their whole lives – first to their fathers and then to their husbands – with few laws protecting them and no right to vote. The Russian revolution happened because the tiny group of the nobility had everything and the vast millions of the population had nothing and no chance of ever getting anything.

I shuddered over the way things were then and celebrated how far we have come, while recognizing the dangers we face now as a world economy where too few have too much and too many have not enough. When the divide gets too large, revolutions happen like the Arab Spring. You can’t hold people down forever, they will rise up. It’s what comes next that is most important: what political and institutional systems will be set up to fulfil the dreams of the future?

A year later, I read the second volume in Follet’s trilogy, “Winter of the World”, which follows the characters’ families through World War II. It’s wonderful to pick up the threads of narrative with engaging characters you’ve already come to know and love, and then fall in love with their descendants too. Then of course I got the third book in the series, which takes place during the social and political upheavals of the 1960s. I enjoyed the second two perhaps a bit more than the first – because I didn’t have the flu!

Receive Daily Posts by Email

Find What You’re Looking For

Connect With Chellie

What People Are Saying

Jenee Dana

“I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to create your workshop and share it with us. The training...

2014-10-09T22:28:15+00:00

“I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to create your workshop and share it with us. The training I received in your workshop was incredible and the best thing I could have done as a brand new business owner because I am going to start my business the right way. And thanks for being you, because you give me permission to be me, and I love that.”—Jenee Dana, My Focus Book, LLC, 323-356-0420, ucla.jenee@ymail.com

http://www.chellie.com/testimonials/jenee-dana/

Jennifer Christianson

"I started reading Chellie's book and doing her affirmations about a year before I took her class. Prior to this...

2014-10-10T20:29:11+00:00

"I started reading Chellie's book and doing her affirmations about a year before I took her class. Prior to this I had many customers (30) that bid me out for each and every project (no quality customers). There was too much to manage and no continuity. A year later I had only 5 customers with regular monthly business and am billing more than double what I had in past years. Less stress, more money and a better life! Thank you Chellie for your help! My only mistake was not taking the class sooner!" — Jennifer Christianson, Account Executive, Transcontinental Direct, 310-937-2483

http://www.chellie.com/testimonials/jennifer-christianson/

Jack Molisani

"I took Chellie's Stress Reduction earlier this year and things went great — for awhile. While slogging through a particular...

2014-10-10T20:28:14+00:00

"I took Chellie's Stress Reduction earlier this year and things went great — for awhile. While slogging through a particular "effort-full" month I spotted I had stopped applying some of the principles in the workshop. So I decided right there to sign up for Chellie's follow-on workshop, and immediately made over $45,000 in commissions in the two weeks after I started. Coincidence? I think not!" — Jack Molisani, Lead Recruiter, ProSpring Technical Staffing, 888-378-2333 Ext. 2, www.ProSpring.net

http://www.chellie.com/testimonials/jack-molisani/

P. Hamilton

"Chellie's teachings, affirmations, words, workshop homework and, most importantly, her wisdom and fun-loving spirit helped shift old patterns and belief systems and revolutionize my life — above and beyond the finances.During her workshop, money flowed to me in increasing amounts even though Iwas starting up a new business at the time did not have a product to sell. I followed her homework suggestions and did the daily affirmations and my old programming about money dramatically shifted… money showed up in the form of unearned income: a reduction in my home and office rent, lowered rates through vendors and extra capital from investors--without asking. Even the right materials for my designs showed up in October--after a frustrating and exhaustive 1 1/2 year global search. But the most important shifts came through changes in my belief system which helped me build a solid foundation for my budding business. I am grateful to Chellie, her wit, smile and laughter--her gold shoes and magic wands. My business, my health, my wealth and I thank you! Take Chellie's workshop-- it will change your life! You will never fear your finances again!" — P. Hamilton, P. Hamilton Design

http://www.chellie.com/testimonials/p-hamilton/

Moira Shepard

"I have to tell you this is the most fun workshop/class/seminar I've ever taken — and you know what a...

2014-10-10T20:25:54+00:00

"I have to tell you this is the most fun workshop/class/seminar I've ever taken — and you know what a seminar junkie I am. Besides getting a lot of great information and meeting wonderful people (Dolphins, as Chellie calls us), it's just a kick to spend time with one of the most enlightened and entertaining women I've ever met. One of the results I've gotten from the class: I'm about to pay off $24,000 of my $32,000 credit card debt (mostly from seminars, instructional books and CDs!). Another: I'm inspired to start my own coaching sessions and workshops. In my book, Chellie is a goddess! — Moira Shepard, Radio Host, 310-923-8551, www.TriumphOverTrauma.com